Molasses extract may help fight obesity

A study in mice suggests dietary supplementation with molasses extract may provide a new approach for weight management, researchers in Australia say. Richard Weisinger of La Trobe University in Bundoora, Australia, and colleagues investigated the impact of adding molasses extract -- rich in polyphenols, a group of chemical compounds found in plants known for their antioxidants -- to a high-fat diet. Mice were given either an unaltered high-fat diet or the same diet supplemented with 2 percent or 4 percent molasses extract. After 12 weeks of these diets, mice that consumed the diet containing 4 percent molasses extract had lower body weight, reduced body fat and decreased blood levels of leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells. "The addition of molasses extract to a high-fat diet appears to reduce body weight and body fat levels primarily through reduced caloric absorption," Weisinger says in a statement. "Due to the increasing worldwide prevalence of obesity and associated health problems, supplementing food with molasses extract might be a way to address the escalating rates of overweight and obesity." Clinical trials are scheduled next year to evaluate molasses extract in weight control in humans. The findings are scheduled to be presented at the upcoming annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior.